Jeff Flake appears to be getting ready to primary Trump in 2020 — here's why

Will an unpopular Donald Trump face a challenger for the Republican presidential nomination?

Jeff Flake thinks so.

“I do think the president will have a challenge from the Republican Party. I think there should be," he recently said.

Flake pointedly refused to endorse Trump in 2016, and faced a challenge from extremist "Chemtrail Kelli" Ward as a result. Ward was leading Flake in polls when he decided to give up his seat. Disgraced former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is now also running for the seat.

At the same time Flake is predicting that there will be a challenger, and saying there definitely should be a challenger, the outgoing Arizona Republican senator is doing all the things that people typically do before making such a challenge. Specifically, he's written a political memoir that torches Trump and reaching across the aisle by writing a check to Doug Jones.

Now, Phoenix New Times has noted that Flake is going to New Hampshire this month.

"It's well established that there are only two reasons to go to northern New England in March," the paper notes. One is skiing. The other is preparing to run for president.

"Flake would be running to make a statement, not because he necessarily thought he could win," they say.

Phoenix's daily came to the same conclusion.

Now, the question of whether Flake is going to run even popped up on TMZ, where a paparazzi asked him about it outside the Washington. D.C. airport.